Max Verstappen (25) and Red Bull won the opening race in Bahrain. His biggest competitor Charles Leclerc (25) must rest. Fernando Alonso (41) made a big impression.

Red Bull And Max Verstappen superior in the opening race of the season. This was the Dutchman’s 36th career win. Teammate Sergio Perez (33) placed second in Bahrain.

– It was a very good start, where I was able to open early, then it was just a matter of taking care of the tyres, said Verstappen after the race.

With 15 laps to go, Ferrari nailed it Charles Leclerc engine trouble and had to rest.

“No, no, no,” we can hear the man who finished second in last season’s summary say over the team radio.

Tactically smart tire choices allowed Red Bull to gain the upper hand over Ferrari early on. In contrast to Ferrari and most others, Verstappen and Perez chose to switch to soft tires at their first tire change. Leclerc, who was in second place, was easily overtaken by Perez and lost a lot of time.

There was little doubt from the start that Perez would take second place, and it became clearer when Leclerc had to rest.

But Verstappen is not a do-gooder. Because the racer from the Netherlands was not far from winning the most superior on the track in Bahrain. He finished 12 seconds ahead of teammate Perez.

Fernando Alonso (41) thereby maintained the record margin of victory on the track. He took it in 2010, when he won by 16 seconds.

The veteran is still racing, this season for Aston Martin, and was in great form as he took the last step of the podium.

– It’s amazing what Aston Martin has done over the winter to have the second fastest car in the first race of the season, said Alonso after the race.